Juventus youngster set for first start against Sassuolo
20-year-old Kaio Jorge is poised to earn his first Juventus start against Sassuolo in Thursday night’s Coppa Italia quarter-final.
Signed from Santos for a small fee in the summer, Jorge has rarely featured for Juve this season and talks over the youngster earning a loan move away in January were rife after Dusan Vlahovic completed his big-money move to Turin.
The Brazilian remained at the club, however, and now he looks set to make his first start for the Bianconeri.
Kaio Jorge is expected to make his first Juventus start against Sassuolo in the Coppa Italia
#Allegri prenderà la decisione finale domani mattina, ma oggi #KaioJorge è stato provato nell’assetto titolare //Allegri will take a final decision tomorrow morning but Kaio Jorge was in the team today with a view to being in the starting XI tomorrow 🇧🇷⚪️⚫️@GoalItalia
— Romeo Agresti (@romeoagresti) February 9, 2022
Striker Jorge has had to be patient this term, with Massimiliano Allegri granting him just 124 minutes of senior action over ten appearances. The most Juventini saw of the young Brazilian was in December’s 1-1 draw with Venezia after he came on as an early substitute for the injured Paulo Dybala.
He played 64 minutes in Venice, but the vast majority of his cameos thus far have been limited to single digits. However, we’re expected to see a lot more of him on Thursday night.
In his pre-match press conference, Allegri said that Jorge “could play from the start” with Vlahovic needing to be evaluated after his dream debut on Sunday. Juventus have a critical match coming up this weekend away at Atalanta and the boss will want his new €75m forward 100% fit for that bout.
And with Moise Kean suspended, it looks like it’ll be Jorge’s time to shine. Many Italian media outlets have projected the Brazilian to lead the line in Allegri’s 4-3-3 with Juan Cuadrado and Alvaro Morata playing either side of him. The latter shone in his new role against Hellas Verona.
Nevertheless, Romeo Agresti confirmed initial suspicions over Jorge’s potential introduction on Thursday as he reported that the 20-year-old was in the starting XI on Wednesday with Allegri making his final decision on Thursday morning.
Juventini have longed to see the former Santos starlet in action and while he remains an unknown commodity to many, it seems that we’ll get to know Kaio Jorge: the footballer, a little better on Thursday night as Juventus continue the defence of their Coppa Italia crown.